Adjustable parachute harness



Patented July 14, 1942 UNITED.;

ADJUSTABLE PABACHUTE HARNESS Frank G. Manson and James J. Mask'ey, DammOhio Application August 6,- 1941, serai' No. @5,672` scams l(el.24a-151) (Granted under the act of March 3, 18,83, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0..G. 757) v The invention described hereinmaybe manu-- factured and used by or for Government for governmentalpurposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.I

This invention relates to parachute harness anu more particularly to asimplified set of adjusting means for fitting the harness to bodies ofvarying sizes. i

An object of the invention is to provide a harness of this type which iscapable of a wider range of adjustments than those heretofore used,whereby a harnessrof a given size will accom;- modate a wider range o'fpersonnel.

Another object of the invention is to so coni struct and 'arrange theseveral parts of the harness that it may easily be adjusted by thewearer I8 at each end, and the risers I0 extend downward to and thruthese links, doubling back upon themselves as at to' form adjustingloops 2| and ending at the-center bar of the slip buckles 2 2. Raisingor lowering the slip buckles changes the length of the adjusting loops2| and thereby raises or lowers the seat piece I6 with respect to therisers Ill.4

The breast strap 28 is composed of two partsv 30, each stitched lightlyto one of the risers I6, the 'free ends of the parts being provided withthe separable members of a quick opening fastener 32. The pocket for therip cord grip is stitched in the usual manner' to the left side of -thebreast strap over its position on the riser,

but since the parachute pack, audits opening to t his body after he hasdonned the harness and pack, `and particularly Vwhen such adjusting mustbe done in cramped quarters as, for instance, in the cockpit of anairplane.

AnotherA object is 'to provide a harness which, once adjusted, may beput on and taken offwith minimumleiort and in minimum time, by employingas few and as quick operating fasteners as is consistent with safety.

' A more specific object is to provide an adjusti ing means fordetermining the height at which the pack will be positioned on thewearers back,

and separate adjusting means for Vbringing the @lower half of theharness upwardly to fit the wearers body, the second means beingadjustable 4without=-alecting thev adjustment of the first means. i

j Other objects and advantages will appear from the following detaileddescription and from the drawings, wherein:

mechanism form no partof this invention, this pocketis not shown. O

The back straps 34, at their upper ends. are secured to the center barsof the siip'buckles 36, these bucklesbeing slidable-vertically on therisers I0, whereby the distance above the breast strap-28 at which theback straps are attached to the risers may be varied by slipping thebuckles up. or down.

From the`slip buckles 36 the back strapspass backward and over theshoulders and diagonally 1 shows the .harness -in coupled up codtion asit would appear from the .front when removed fr'om the person,

i Fig. 2 shows a front view of the harnesswhen it is adjusted to thebody. Fig. 3 shows a'rear viewl of the harness when it is 'adjusted tothe wearers body. The risers or load lines |0` separatel at the vupperend into two branches l2, each oi'- which Carr-ies a closed link I4intowhich one-fourth of the canopy .suspension lines of the parachute(not shown) are tied. The links Hand small portions I5 of the risers 'I0extend back over the shoulders and downward and are entered betweenflaps and into the parachute pack as at l1, Fig. 3 when it is made up asin common prac-- tice. f

The seat .piece I6 is made of a number of stitched-together layers andcarries a. closed link down over the back, forming the shoulder loops 38and crossing each other at 46 where they arestitched together, thencontinuing downward and around the sides to the front of the body. thelayers of webbing being divided as at 42 and passing part under and partbetween the adjusting loops 2l -of the risers I0. 'I'he parachute pack43, shown only in dotted outline in Fig. 3,

` is supported on the back strap, the flaps at thel upper end of thepack being lightly stitched to the straps in the region of the shoulderloops 38,

while the lower end of the pack has slip straps.4

through which the back straps slide, The slip straps on` the pack arelocated below the .point of crossing 4l of the ,back straps, and holdthe pack to the harness whether it is on or off of the body, while abelt on the pack encircles the body toadditionally hold the pack upclose to the body when the rig is fbeing worn.

The extreme lower ends of the back straps AI4 are each provided with oneof the parts of a quick opening fastener 32, the other parts of thefasteners being held inthe adjusting loops 44 of the leg straps 46. Theleg straps 46 are securely stitched in adjacent spaced apart positions484 nearthe middle of the seat piece I6. Iil'he loops 44 may belengthened or shortened for adjustment bymeans of the slip buckles 50.

In assembling a rigging of the type herein shown and described, thefollowing procedure may be observed: 'I'he breast strap 28 maypreferably be so positioned on the risers l that when it is placed apredetermined distance, which may preferably be about lo below the chinof an average person, the risers will hang downward over the Iback adistance sufficient to extend at least halfway thru the pack when thepack is made up and properly positioned on the persons back. Thisdistance may be determined for the average person, after which thebreast straps may be attached to the risers at that distance from theends in all outfits.

with the breast strap 2s propeny located on the person, the buckles 36,which determine the position of the upperends of lthe back straps, may

now preferably be adjusted about to the position' fronts of the legs andjoined to the lower ends of the back straps, adjusting means for drawingup the leg 'straps closely arund the legs without changing the positionof attachment of the back strap at the shoulder, and adjusting means todraw the outer ends of the seat piece upwardly without changing theposition of the risers on the shoulders. f I

2. In a parachute harness, a seat piece positioned in back of the wearerarid fashioned to extend across the bottom of the wearers body, a pairof risers attached to the ends of said seat piece, said risers extendingfrom the seat ends around t the front of the wearers body then upwardlyto and beyond the shoulders, a pair 01E backl straps attached to theunderside of the risers near the shoulders extending diagonally downwardand joined together near the middle of the wearers back then divergingand extending be made the vsame in a number of the outfits, so

that if they are issued 'to a group, no one of-the group need make anyadjustment except `the, lower ones which may be made quickly in anemergency. f

However, if the outts are issued into the custody of individual users,some additional ac ljustment of the upper slip buckles 36 maybeadvantageous. Thus a. shorter person may slip the buckles downwardtoward the breast strap thereby to raise the `pack and better nest it onhis back and a taller person may adjust the buckles oppositely. But ifthe slipv buckles 36 are considerably lowered, the pack may need to beremade in order that the upper ends of'the risers will not have too'muchslack above the` shoulders.

With the upper part of the harness preadjusted as above indicated, thedonning of the outt by an individual to whom it has not been speciallyfitted, comprises nierely the snapping together l of the three qui\ taction fasteners 32, and the raising or lowering of the slip buckles 22and 50, the buckles 22 being'effective to adjust the seat piece closelyup to the bottom of the body and the buckles being eifectiveto hold thebody from sliding forward off of the seat piece.

It should be noted particularly that the adjustment of the slip buckles22 and 50 does not in any way disturb the preadjusted position of thebreast strap 2 8 or the pack positioning buckles 36. This is consideredone of the important -features of this invention.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. In a parachute harness, a seat piece positioned in back of the wearerand fashioned to extend acrossthe bottom of the wearers body, a pair ofrisers, one attached to each end of the seat piece, said risersextending from the seat ends around the sides of the wearers body thenupward, one on each side over the front, to and beyond the shoulders, apair of back straps attached to the underside of the risers near theshoulders, extending downward over the back converging to a midway pointthen diverging toward the4 lower ends, and extending around the sides ofthe body to the front, leg straps extending from the seat piece forwardbetween andaround and across the around the sides of the body to thefront, leg straps extending from the seat piece forwardly between andaround the fronts of the legs and joined to the lower ends of the backstraps, means to adjust the length of the leg straps and means to adjustthe length of the risers at the lower ends without changing theirpositions on the shoulders. 3. In a parachute harness, a seat piece inback of the wearer and extending across the bottom of the wearers body,links at the ends of the seat piece, a pair of risers extending frombeyond the shoulders downward over the front of the body insubstantially parallel direction then around the sides and thru saidlinks, doubling back upon themselves to form., adjusting loops, a pairof back Straps attached to the underside of the risers near'` theshoulders'extending diagonally downward, crossing each other near themiddle of the back and extending around the sides of the body to thefront, leg straps extending from the seat piece forwardly between andaround the fronts of the legs and outwardly to join with the lower endsof the back straps, means to adjust the length of the leg straps, andmeans to adjust the length of the loop at the lower ends of the risers.4. In a parachute harness, a seatfpiece, links at the ends of the sea-tpiece, risers having their lower ends extending thru said links thenlapping back upon themselves to form loops, an adjusting buckle at eachof the riser ends for changing the length of said loops, said risersextending from the seat piece links around the sides of the body thenupward on the front of the body, one riser on each side, to and beyondthe shoulders, a pair of back straps attached to the underside of therisers near the shoulders extending downward and fastened together atthe middle of the back ,then diverging and extending around the sides ofthe body to the front, leg straps extending from near the middle of theseat piece. forwardly between the legs and around the fronts thereof andoutwardly to the lower ends of the back straps, quick actingsnapfasteners joining the leg straps and back straps, and means to adjustthe length of the leg straps.

5.\In a parachute harness, a seat piece .positioned in back of thewearer and,adapted to fit up to the bottom end of the wearers body,links at the ends of the seat piece, risers extending' thru said linksand lapping back upon themselves to form adjusting loops, slip buckleson the outer layers of said loops, the free ends of the inner layersbeing joined to the vcenter bars of said buckles, said risers extendingfrom the links of the seat piece around the sides of the body then upover the front of the body,`one riser on each istraps.

side, to and beyond the shoulders, a pair of back straps attached to theunderside of the risers in around the sides and to the front of thebody, al

pair of leg straps each havin-g one end attached to the seat piece andthe other end to the back strap, and means varyl the lengthV of the leg6. Ina parachute harness, a` seat in back of the wearer adapted to bedrawn up to the bottom end of the wearers body,links yon the ends of theseat, risers extending thru said links and lapping back upon themselvesto form adjusting loops, slip buckles slidable on the outer ylayers ofsaid loops, the inner layers of the loops having their ends joined tothe center bars of said buckles, said risers extending from said linksaround the sidesof the body then up over the front ofthe body, oneriser-on each side, to` and beyond the shoulders, slip buckles slidableon th risers in the region of the shoulders, back strapsv secured to thecenter bars of said buckles, said -straps converging to the middle ofthe back then diverging and passing around )the sides oi! the body andto the front, a `pair of leg straps each .having one end secured to saidseat and the other end to the lower ends of the back straps,

and means to adjust the lengths of the leg straps.

7. In a parachute harness, a seat in-baek of the wearer adapted to beadjusted up to the bottom end of the wearers body, risers extending frombeyond the shoulders-downward one on each side over the front of thebody then around the each riser in theregion of the breast, back strapsattached to the upper ends of the risers in the region of the shoulders,converging downward to the middle of the back then diverging andextending around the sides, leg straps having their one end secured tothe seat and extending forwardly between then around the fronts of thelegs and to the back stra-ps, a quick acting snap fastener connectingea-ch leg strap to its back strap, and a quick actingsnapfastenerconnectv ing .the two parts of the breast strap.

8. In a parachute harness, a seat in -back of the seat, a pair ofris-ers extending from beyond the shoulders parallelly downward over thefront of the body then around the sides and thru thel 4links lappingback upon themselves to form adjusting loops, a pair ofI slip bucklesnear the lower ends of the risers, the extreme ends of the risers beingjoined to the center bars of the slip buckles, a breast strap in twoparts, one part on each riser in the region of the breast, a second pairof slip buckles on the risers above the breast strap, a pair of backstraps attached to the center Abars of the second pair of bucklesconverging downward to the middle of the back then diverg ing to thesides and around the front, leg straps having their one end secured tothe seat near the middle thereof extending forwardly between and aroundthe legs to the back straps, means to adjust the length of the legstraps, a quick opening fastener4 connecting each leg strap to its backi strap and a quick opening'fastener connecting G. MANSON.v JAMES J.MASKEY.

